When it comes to re-selling another company’s product, there are numerous options or channels to explore. Which options work best for you will depend upon the product(s) you are affiliated with. You might even find that a combination of channels will work best for you. And, in online marketing, it pays to think outside the box. In most cases, you would generally follow the primary promotional method uses by those who already are affiliated with that product or merchant service. Most all affiliate marketers need a vehicle to drive traffic to their affiliate products/services. Most often a content rich web site serves as that vehicle. So let’s take a closer the affiliate marketing vehicle, know as content publishers.
Content Publishers
The Content Publishers monetize content-saturated websites with affiliate links such as banners, widgets, text links, product links etc. which are related to that content. In other words, affiliates make money by driving traffic to a product landing page on an affiliate program or the actions that occur on those pages. That might be a sale of a product, or an action like downloading a trial software.
Content Publishers fall into two categories: (1) business owners with existing websites and (2) affiliate marketers who create a web sites specific to their affiliate topic.
The business owner with an existing website usually has their ownreal world business website which is filled with industry- or product-specific content. Their business website presents the perfect opportunity for them to drive their already existing website traffic to a related products and services affiliate. For example, an interior decorator who has a large number of visitors may put up banners, links, and other widgets which drive traffic to other affiliated products. The business owner may be paid for the click through to the affiliate’s product page or for the completion of a sale, depending upon that merchants affiliate program. The point is, this person has their own business and they are adding “additional offerings” through their website and benefiting financially for helping another merchant either obtain leads or sales. Now, the business owner may also have an affiliate program for their particular product or service, but that would not be promoted through their own content publishing.
The Affiliate Marketer can create a website specifically filled with content they want for the purpose of promoting their affiliate business. In other words, the whole purpose for their website is actually to promote their affiliate businesses. Many times these websites are created within social networking applications like Ning or WordPress based on user-generated content. That means that the web site owner and/or visitors add content to the web site like forums or social networking web sites. These web sites are typically considered gathering places for large numbers of people who all have common interests. The affiliate marketer then posts their banners and advertisements with links that drive traffic to their affiliated products pages. Again they may be paid for clicks to the page, sales leads or product purchases.
Content publishers play a very important part in the positioning of marketing efforts for affiliate programs. Let Compass Marketing evaluate your web site for content publisher viability in terms of affiliate possibilities. We also consult with our clients on building websites designed to promote affiliate programs. Contact us today!